This Smart Home Control Hub Is Made of Wood

There’s a very real possibility that each and every one of you reading this has some sort of smart assistant at home. Even if you don’t, there’s one built into the phone you could be reading this on. The ubiquitous technology isn’t going anywhere any time soon, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get prettier or less intrusive. That’s the aim of mui, the new smart home control hub, speaker (that works with Alexa and Google) and digital display out of Japan that’s currently taking CES by storm (it already won an Innovation Award). The first thing you’re going to notice is the most obvious–it’s made out of wood. The unassuming natural wood bar mounts to your wall and activates with a simple swipe of your hand. Once you wake mui up, you have access to weather, calendar, smart home devices, messages, Google Assistant and a plethora of other information you can configure yourself with IFTTT. They think of it as a calmer, less intrusive smart home option that won’t get you hooked. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also significantly prettier than every other option on the market.